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| Babai Hotel |
During our stay at Vijayawada, we visited the most popular
restaurant “Babai Hotel” to have the pleasure of tasting the south Indian
dishes prepared in a traditional manner . This hotel was started in 1942 by
Patruni Sambamoorti who fondly used to call his customers “Babai” which means
father’s younger brother. The hotel is in a small house with four or five tables.
Old photos showing celebrities like politicians and film actors are displayed
on the walls. Famous personalities like Sri Vajpeyi, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy,Sri
N.T.Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao,
Savitri, Chandra Mohan came here to have their breakfast.
Most of the customers
buy coupons, and wait for their turn to taste the idilis topped with a lump of
fresh white butter along with coconut chutney, sambar and spicy powder.
Forgetting the simple surroundings they enjoy eating idlis which are prepared by using natural ingredients without adding any artificial substances. They follow
the same old menu and old techniques and the surroundings also remind us the
good old times when we used to sit in a homely restaurant without any showy
splendor. Tiffin items like Idli, Upma, pongal , Pesarattu with Upma and Dosa
are staple menu all prepared in a traditional manner and served in plates with
banana leaves.The steaming cups of coffee in steel glasses with tumblers remind
us the traditional way of serving coffee. At the reception counter also we do
not find any computer. The manager just writes the bill on a slip and hands it over with a friendly smile.
After Babai’s demise in 1985, his nephew Valiveti
Narasimha Rao became the proprietor. In 2007 the building of the hotel was
renovated with addition of two upper floors accommodating twenty five people on
each floor. The working hours are from 7.00 a.m. to 1.30 p.m and from 6.00 a.m.
to 9.30 p.m. Only tiffins are available here. This hotel is looked upon as a
heritage hotel with a long history of serving great people for the last seventy
five years. Don’t miss the chance of going to this place if you go to
Vijayawada.
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22nd January, 2018 Somaseshu Gutala
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